Chapter XLVIII. * extend the Charter of Washington City, also to regulate the Selection of Officers, and for other Purposes.*May 28, 1868
1,458 words·~7 min read·
/statutes-at-large/vol-15/chapter-xlviii-260673·A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
CHAP. XLVIII.— An Act * extend the Charter of Washington City, also to regulate the Selection of Officers, and for other Purposes.*May 28, 1868.Repealed, except §§ 1 and 6. *Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled*, That an act Vol. xvi. p. 8. Act of 1848, ch. 42, Vol. ix. p. 223, continued in force one year, or, &c.entitled “An act to continue, alter, and amend the charter of the city of Washington,” approved May seventeenth, eighteen hundred and forty-eight, and the several amendments thereof now in force, are hereby continued in force for the term of one year from the date hereof, or until Congress shall bySee vol. xvi. p. 8. law determine otherwise.
Sec. 2. *And be it further enacted,* That it shall be the duty of theMayor, aldermen, and council to meet in convention, and elect certain officers by ballot. mayor of the city of Washington, District of Columbia, the board of aldermen, and the board of common council thereof, to assemble in joint convention at the city hall in said city on the first Tuesday of July, eighteen hundred and sixty-eight, and proceed to select by ballot all officers whose appointments, upon the nomination of the mayor, are now authorized by the charter, or by any law of the United States, or act or ordinance of said city, or which may hereafter be authorized thereby, whoTime of meeting; term of office. shall hold their offices respectively for one year, and until a successor is appointed; and on the same day of the month in each year thereafter the Future elections.joint convention shall proceed to a new selection: *Provided,* That noQualifications for such offices. person shall be regarded as incompetent to hold any of said offices, or be disqualified therefor, who is a qualified elector in said District.
Sec. 3. *And be it further enacted,* That in all meetings of the mayorProceedings while in convention. of the city of Washington and of the boards of aldermen and common council for the purposes mentioned in the second section of this act, the mayor or the president of either of said boards shall preside, and the secretaries of said boards shall act as tellers, and keep a record of the proceedings, and the mayor, or any member of either of said boards may nominate one or more persons for the offices required to be filled, and the person having the highest number of votes shall be publicly declared selected, and a certificate of his election shall within five days be madeCertificates of election. out and be signed by the presiding officer and secretaries, and be transmitted to the person selected, who shall within ten days thereafter enterPersons elected, when to enter on office. on the discharge of the duties of his office, which shall be immediately vacated by any person then holding the same.
Sec. 4. *And be it further enacted,* That all questions arising in theQuestions arising in the convention to be determined by a majority vote. joint convention authorized by this act shall be determined by a majority of the votes of the members thereof present at any of its meetings, and it shall have power to adjourn from time to time until all the duties imposed upon it shall be completed, and to require of the persons selectedAdjournments. for any office such security as may be deemed necessary.
And in theVacancies. event of any vacancy from disability, death, or resignation, it shall be the duty of the mayor to call a meeting of the joint convention to select a successor for the unexpired term of service. Sec. 5. *And be it further enacted,* That when the mayor, the board ofBank for the deposit of moneys of the city to be designated in the convention. aldermen, and the common council shall be assembled in joint convention, as provided for in this act, they shall, by a majority vote, designate a bank in which the various moneys of the city of Washington shall be deposited, and they shall make such regulations in relation to the mode in which such funds shall be kept and paid out as shall be deemed advisable for the interests of the city; and within five days after such designationCertificate of selection to be given president a certificate of the bank selected shall be made out and placed in the62or cashier of bank.hands of the president or cashier thereof, and thereafter it shall not City funds not to be elsewhere unless, &c.be lawful to retain or deposit the funds of the city, or any part thereof, in any other bank or place, unless by order of the board.
Sec. 6. *And be it further enacted,*Amendment of, 1867, ch. 6, § 1. Vol. xiv. p. 375. That the first section of the act entitled “ An act to regulate the elective franchise in the District of Columbia,” passed January eight, eighteen hundred and sixty-seven, be, and Electors to reside in ward fifteen days before offering to vote.the same is hereby, amended so as to require electors in the city of Washington to reside in the ward or election precinct in which they shall offer to vote fifteen days prior to the day of any election, instead of three Elective franchise not conferred on officers, soldiers, sailors, &c. unless, &c.months: *Provided,* That said section shall not be construed as conferring the elective franchise in said city on non-commissioned officers, soldiers, sailors, or marines in the regular service of the United States, stationed or on duty in said city, except such as may have become actual residents with their families in said city for one year previous to any election:
Persons claiming to be naturalized not to be registered, &c. unless papers are produced, &c.*Provided further,* That no person claiming to be a naturalized citizen shall be registered as an elector, nor shall the name of any such person be retained on the list of voters, without the production of his naturalization papers or duly certified copies thereof, or satisfactory proof of the loss of the same; and for the purpose of correcting said list as regards Correction of voting lists.the aforesaid classes of persons, and in all other respects, the judges of election shall meet in some proper place in said city between the hours of nine o’clock, A.
M., and seven o’clock, P. M., on three days instead of Original voting lists to remain in whose custody.two days, as now required: *Provided further.* That all the original lists of voters both before and after their correction shall remain in the custody of the member of the board of judges first named in their appointment by the supreme court of the District of Columbia; and, in the event of his removal or resignation, in the custody of his regularly appointed This section continued in force one year.successor, except when being copied for publication and for the use of the commissioners of elections, and said original lists shall at all times be open Vol. xvi. p. 8.for the use and inspection of either of said judges: *Provided further*, No property qualification required for officers.That no property qualification shall be required for any of the officers of said city, and that three days prior to any election each board of commissioners of election shall appoint two clerks to assist them in registering Clerks to board of commissioners of elections.the names of voters in their respective election precincts, and in making returns of the elections, who shall be sworn before the clerk of the supreme court of said District truly and faithfully to perform their duties, and for any misconduct in office be subject to the same penalties to which Judges of election to make regulations.said commissioners are now subject: *And provided further.* That it shall be the duty of the judges of election to make any regulations and give any notice which may be proper or necessary to carry out any of the provisions of this section.
Sec. 7. *And be it further enacted,*Repeal of inconsistent laws. That all acts and ordinances, or parts thereof, or parts of the charter of the city of Washington inconsistent herewith, be, and the same are hereby, repealed. SCHUYLER COLFAX, *Speaker of the House of Representatives*. B. F. WADE, *President of the Senate pro tempore*. Indorsed by the President: “Received May 16, 1868.” [Note by the Department of State.—The foregoing act having been presented to the President of the United States for his approval, and not having been returned by him to the House of Congress in which it originated within the time prescribed by the Constitution of the United States, has become a law without his approval.]